Wood Blocks
by MirrorMarch
Summary: On a rainy afternoon, four elves play a game, and Fingon learns a very pointed lesson from his sister.


**A note on the names and stuff for those who need it:**

 **Maedhros – Maitimo/Russandol**

 **Fingon – Findek** **á** **no**

 **Maglor – Makalaur** **ë** **/K** **á** **no**

 **Aredhel –** **Í** **riss** **ë**

 **Quendi – Elves**

 **Nér/Néri – Male elf/elves**

"Easy, Káno… Easy… Almost… Eru _bless you_ and all your house for the rest of eternity!"

Findekáno threw his arm around his dark-haired cousin, embracing him victoriously as Makalaurë proudly drew his hand back from stacking the small wood block on top of the precariously-teetering tower before him.

Írissë frowned, half in annoyance, half in concern, as she realized that the structure wasn't going to fall on this turn, and that it was now her move. She couldn't exactly place blame on anyone but herself for this predicament, however, for she had been the one who had roped her brother, Makalaurë, and Maitimo into playing this game with her. It was a rather silly pastime for full-grown Quendi such as themselves, but there was little else to do that day, what with the foul weather preventing them from doing anything out of doors, not even a short walk about the gardens. The four of them had planned on a hunt today for some good sport, but those dreams had been dashed by the ferocious winds, the pelting rain, and the thunder and lightning that split the skies so mightily that the windows rattled. So, they had been stuck inside, and when reading had become dull and even Makalaurë had grown tired of coaxing melodies out of the strings of his harp, Írissë had suggested that they might play a game.

Far from reprimanding her for the childish idea, the others had eagerly sprung upon the suggestion, and so they had all sat down at the large table beside the warm hearth to engage in the only game they could play with so many contenders: Crumbling Tower.

The rules were simple. A tower was constructed out of numerous, staggered wooden blocks that must be pulled out, one by one, from the structure and stacked on the top without causing it to fall. If one _did_ topple the tower, however, then the game ended and that player had lost. Ordinarily, the contestants would play as individuals, but for the sake of making the experience a bit more interesting, the four had decided to form teams of two on two, meaning that if one unbalanced the tower, then their teammate would also face defeat.

Now, they had been playing for nearly ten minutes, and the tower was riddled with gaps and holes, the base consisted only of a single block centered underneath the rest, and the whole stack swayed dangerously if one breathed too heavily upon it.

Írissë bit her lip and narrowed her eyes in concentration as she took up position, her hand hovering beside the tower as she searched for a block that could be safely removed. She would not be defeated, not by her brother, and she certainly didn't want to bear the shame of causing Maitimo to fail as well.

"Move slowly, Írissë," her tall cousin advised from beside her, "we'll overthrow these cravens yet!"

She nodded seriously and took a steadying breath before she placed her white fingertips gingerly around a block and began to pull it gently from its place. It was halfway out before the structure started to wobble disconcertingly, and Írissë froze, while Maitimo sucked in a harsh breath as he went rigid, not daring to move lest it unbalance the blocks.

After a moment, the tower steadied, and Írissë let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding before resuming her pull on the little wooden brick.

"Come on, come on..." she mumbled, almost unconscious of the words as the block came free, save for a single corner that still supported the rest of the pieces above it. She paused, not daring to remove that corner, yet knowing that she couldn't stop now unless she forfeited the game. Ai, but she was almost certain it would fall if she took it out! Her teeth worried her lower lip, and she tried to ignore the way Findekáno had begun to chant, "fall, fall, fall!" under his breath.

There was nothing else to be done, she had to risk it. With her jaw clenched tightly, Írissë yanked the block free at last, then froze again, waiting, praying, as the tower swayed, slowed… then miraculously stood. Cautiously, hardly daring to hope just yet, Írissë put the block on the top of the tower, waited a second more, then leaned back triumphantly in her seat and fixed her brother with a smug gaze.

"Do go on ahead, Finde," she needled, gesturing at the tower with one hand. "Show us your mettle."

Findekáno smiled sweetly back at his sister and replied, "watch me and weep, Írissë. You'll not best me!"

With that, he took his turn, twisting his head this way and that to find a suitable block, and upon locating one near the middle of the stack, he brought forward his hand, twitching his ring-adorned fingers carefully beside it, then snatched the block from its place, quick and sure. In a second, the rectangular piece of wood sat on the top of the tower, unassuming and mocking.

"Let's see you do better, Russandol," Findekáno goaded pompously, looking to the red-haired _nér_ across from him and crossing his arms with a laugh. Maitimo smiled without humor, rising to the challenge unflinchingly as he popped his knuckles and flexed his long fingers in preparation.

"It is well that the color of defeat suits you, cousin!" the tall elf retorted, before he also made his move, patiently pulling a block from a position near the top of the tower and crowning the structure with it easily.

"Is that how you would win this then?" Findekáno jibed, "by taking no risks and removing blocks the rest of us have already used?"

Írissë bristled at the insult to her teammate, but Maitimo remained unflustered at the barb, and Makalaurë was quick to chastise his companion.

"Peace, cousin," he said, "and do try to still that mocking tongue of yours for a moment while I concentrate."

"We were supposed to be demoralizing _them..._ " Findekáno grumbled under his breath, but he sat back in his chair nonetheless, and remained silent as Makalaurë edged a piece out of the tower with his signature gentleness, holding the block as carefully as one might a newborn babe as he placed it at the top with all the others.

It was Írissë's turn again, and she prepared to move when her brother's voice came again.

"Will you also take one from the top?" he teased, "or will you simply move as slowly as you did last turn?"

It was the final straw. Írissë glared up at her brother, and a dangerous light entered her eyes as she abandoned the block she had been about to grab, and started to move her hand instead down to the bottom of the tower where sat that one crucial wood piece, all that remained of the structure's base.

Findekáno's pale blue eyes went wide, Makalaurë inhaled sharply, and next to her, Maitimo burst out, "no, Írissë, don't!" in alarm.

She ignored them all, and with slender, powerful fingers, she tugged at the block, swift and precise as a serpent that strikes at its prey. The piece came free in half a second, and the whole tower fell straight down onto the tabletop and landed with a soft, wooden _plunk,_ one block shorter, yet completely, unbelievably whole.

The room went silent, all three _néri_ gaping, open-mouthed, at Írissë and the block tower.

"Your turn," Írissë said sweetly to her brother, fluttering her lashes at him, doe-like and innocent.

At that, Makalaurë began to chuckle, and Findekáno rose from the couch, throwing his hands in the air as he walked away, stating resignedly, "no chance, sister! I forfeit!"

And Maitimo, ordinarily so refined, embraced her shamelessly as they both cheered out their victory cries.

 **The last day of break, and I used it to write about elves playing Jenga. What a life!**


End file.
